Imagine you’re a proud owner of a middleweight machine and have squeezed out every ounce of performance. What you need now is a flagship hyper bike that re-injects that childlike excitement to ride again, makes you giggle on every ride, and most importantly, helps you grow more as a rider. If you’re in this boat, we have a solid recommendation for you. This is one of the most advanced yet usable naked bikes on the market, without being totally overkill for half the regular stuff. And before you ask, yes, it is highly capable of setting your local racetrack ablaze, too.
What A Large Displacement Bike Demands From An Experienced Rider
Rudi Schedl via KTM
The whole point of any manufacturer that has tiers of bikes in a wide range of cubic capacities is to not only make a potential rider loyal to the brand. But to also let that rider graduate to higher levels of performance. And there are enough videos on YouTube that demonstrate just what happens when this natural progression is messed with.
Kawasaki
A rider who spends time on each rung of the tier learns to understand the difference in handling, power delivery, as well as their own limits, while gauging their skill progression. The added benefit is not simply relying on electronic nannies to cradle you through the progression. A high-performance machine isn’t usually forgiving given the immense power-to-weight ratio. The electronic nannies on it simply won’t compensate for an irresponsible throttle hand
2025 Ducati Streetfighter V4 SDucati
Or even throwing the bike into a corner with a prayer and hope that the traction control keeps them upright on the exit. It’s only when the rider has been through the phases of progression and adequate training that, years later, riding the hyper-naked that they dreamt of finally pays off. Triumph reserves its top-tier naked for this rider, and it’s exactly why they have a whole host of machines ranging from 400cc to 660 and 765 to get there.
The Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS Is The Upgrade Payoff For Every Ride Spent Getting Here
Triumph
The Speed Triple nameplate has run continuously since 1994, around the same early-90s high-performance streetfighter wave that produced Ducati’s Monster. This era marked a shift from a standard motorcycle to an aggressive silhouette that Triumph dubbed the “factory streetfighter.” The current Speed Triple RS carries the lineage three decades on into a 1,160cc triple making 180.5 horsepower. It also boasts a comprehensive rider-focused electronics suite, and at $21,545, it sits at the flagship-grade price class as well. But what makes it worthwhile for an experienced rider to upgrade?
A 1,160cc Triple Tuned To Build Trust Before It Builds Speed
Triumph
Firstly, the engine. Most bikes in this cubic capacity range are ones that beginner and intermediate riders should definitely stay away from. This is simply due to the fact that many of them have an explosive enough power delivery that is a hoot to ride but only in highly experienced hands. For a rider upgrading to their first super-naked, how the power is delivered across the rev range matters more.
Where The Speed Triple’s Power Actually Lives
2021 Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS popping a wheelieTriumph Motorcycles
The RS’ peak torque of 94.4 lb-ft is developed at 8,750 rpm, which is above its mid-range, so it does demand that the rider build confidence in revving it to ride its torque wave. To help this, the triple builds its power progressively rather than hiding it in a narrow rev band. As power keeps climbing to another 2,000 rpm, you hit its 180.5 hp peak that’ll make a long back straight on a track shorter in time. This progressiveness helps an experienced rider immensely to gather confidence by working up through the rev range and not be hit by a single spike that catches their wrist off guard.
The Electronics That Let A Rider Turn The Power Up Gradually
Both the Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RX and RS share the same TFT screenTriumph
An experienced rider will also find the Speed Triple’s electronics not to be intrusive and will treat them as part of the learning. Five ride modes in the form of Rain, Road, Sport, Track, and a customizable Rider mode each retune the throttle response, traction control, and engine braking to suit a rider’s commitment levels on the day. A six-axis IMU further nuances the electronics’ behavior, and it also controls the cornering ABS so that a missed braking point isn’t punished with a lost front end. Then there are features like Front Wheel Lift Control, adjustable across four levels, so you can progress from cutting a wheelie almost before it starts to letting you hold one on the last stint of the track day.
The Premium Kit Makes The Speed Triple RS Worth The Upgrade
Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS Ohlins semi-active EC3.0 ShockTriumph
What will impress an experienced rider is the additional equipment that comes for the price, leaving one little in the form of aftermarket upgrades. The RS runs an Öhlins NIX30 fork and TTX36 shock with SmartEC3 semi-active damping, adjusting compression and rebound in real time based on the road surface and the rider’s inputs.
Triumph
A rider still getting a feel for the chassis to know that the suspension needs to be dialed in has to develop that level of observation, and that takes time. The semi-active Öhlins make this process a little easier and quicker. Elsewhere, Brembo Stylema calipers grip twin 320mm front discs through a radial MCS master cylinder for supremely confident braking performance, and the pair of Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP V3 tires simply add to the handling confidence that the Speed Triple RS extends to its rider.
A Naked Bike Stays Practical Long After The Trackday Ends
Triumph
There are a plethora of hyper-nakeds to choose from these days, but why choose one when you could even get a track-focused superbike? Well, the main point of a streetfighter is its versatility that extends beyond the track. The Speed Triple’s riding position stays closer to upright than committed, with a 32.7-inch seat height and a standard handlebar. Triumph also offers a genuine race crouch for the range-topping RX, which drops its bars 2.71 inches lower and pushes them 2.04 inches further forward, with higher-placed and rearset footpegs.
Triumph Speed Triple RS in the urban environmentTriumph
But the RS offers the comfort required for road riding. The riding position keeps the rider engaged enough on a set of twisties while not stressing the body into an uncomfortable crouch for extended hours of road-riding. There’s no wind protection from a fairing, but its absence also means that there’s nothing to crack on an accidental tip-over even at standstill. All that flagship hardware also pays off on a canyon road just as much as it does on the track, so the versatility is undeniable and perfect to suit an upgrade as you stack more riding experience over the years.
Source: Triumph
